Tribune Renamed Tribune Media After Spinoff Of Newspaper Arm

The separation becomes official today: Shares of Tribune Media — the TV and digital company — will trade over the counter (symbol: TRBAA). The newspaper operation, Tribune Publishing, will trade on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: TPUB).

Tribune Media CEO Peter Liguori heralded the change noting that over the last year he has “executed a strategy designed to embrace a rapidly changing media environment.” The company “doubled the size of our broadcast group, re-launched our national cable network, WGN America, with high-quality original programming, and expanded our digital businesses that power some of the world’s leading media brands. The result is a rich and diverse portfolio of media properties and the birth today of Tribune Media Company.”

The split follows Tribune’s tax-free distribution of publishing shares last week. Tribune owners received 1/4 of a share in TPUB for each share they owned in Tribune. The publishing company’s properties include the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, and The Hartford Courant.